Melbourne council’s $22k taxpayer-funded banana

A Melbourne council has splashed more than $22,000 on a footpath banana sculpture aimed to appeal to pedestrians.

The unique artwork is situated on Rose St, Fitzroy in the city’s inner north and was funded by City of Yarra through a $100,000 taxpayer-funded grant from the TAC.

Standing at almost two metres tall, the banana features a carved out skeletal face and partially peeled skin.

A lengthy description of the artwork on the council’s website attempts to further explain its meaning by referencing a range of inspirations.

“Using absurdity and humour as an entry point, this oversized pop object reveals the ‘infallibility’ of the superhuman figure as social myth,” the website reads.

The banana’s sculptor, Adam Stone, said the artwork, which is supposed to highlight road safety, also aims to engage passing inner-city pedestrians.

“People could walk past it and engage with it and have a bit of fun,” Mr Stone told 3AW.

“If they felt so inclined, they could then hopefully engage with it on a deeper level, which is thinking about this kind of hubristic tendency in western culture towards excess through kind of consumerism and through using finite materials.”

TAC Head of Road Safety Samantha Cockfield told reporters on Friday morning the TAC was “not specifically aware” the sculpture would be a banana.

“I’ve only seen pictures of the banana artwork in the paper; I’ve got no problems with it as a piece of art,” she said.

The grant which funded the banana is also helping convert other parts of Rose St, which has been changed into a shared zone for both cars and pedestrians.